Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / US states

US states by job creation rate

Arizona had the highest job creation rate of 51 states in 2016, at 15.77%. North Dakota had the lowest, at 9.663%. The median was 12.069% and the figure for the United States was 12.883%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest15.77Arizona
Lowest9.663North Dakota
Median12.06951 states
United States12.883History

Map of states, 2016

Alabama: 12.055 %Alaska: 13.053 %Arizona: 15.77 %Arkansas: 12.263 %California: 14.253 %Colorado: 14.357 %Connecticut: 12.259 %Delaware: 13.352 %District of Columbia: 12.62 %Florida: 14.565 %Georgia: 13.5 %Hawaii: 11.061 %Idaho: 13.567 %Illinois: 12.153 %Indiana: 12.008 %Iowa: 10.221 %Kansas: 11.097 %Kentucky: 11.927 %Louisiana: 11.564 %Maine: 11.278 %Maryland: 12.035 %Massachusetts: 11.561 %Michigan: 12.266 %Minnesota: 12.095 %Mississippi: 11.685 %Missouri: 12.069 %Montana: 11.863 %Nebraska: 10.896 %Nevada: 13.852 %New Hampshire: 11.3 %New Jersey: 13.287 %New Mexico: 12.054 %New York: 12.693 %North Carolina: 13.196 %North Dakota: 9.663 %Ohio: 11.628 %Oklahoma: 12.046 %Oregon: 13 %Pennsylvania: 11.376 %Rhode Island: 11.722 %South Carolina: 13.377 %South Dakota: 10.114 %Tennessee: 12.699 %Texas: 14.003 %Utah: 14.093 %Vermont: 9.885 %Virginia: 12.66 %Washington: 13.544 %West Virginia: 10.853 %Wisconsin: 11.033 %Wyoming: 11.08 %
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%, 2016. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2016

Arizona: 15.77 %Arizona15.77Florida: 14.565 %Florida14.565Colorado: 14.357 %Colorado14.357California: 14.253 %California14.253Utah: 14.093 %Utah14.093Texas: 14.003 %Texas14.003Nevada: 13.852 %Nevada13.852Idaho: 13.567 %Idaho13.567Washington: 13.544 %Washington13.544Georgia: 13.5 %Georgia13.5South Carolina: 13.377 %South Carolina13.377Delaware: 13.352 %Delaware13.352New Jersey: 13.287 %New Jersey13.287North Carolina: 13.196 %North Carolina13.196Alaska: 13.053 %Alaska13.053Oregon: 13 %Oregon13Tennessee: 12.699 %Tennessee12.699New York: 12.693 %New York12.693Virginia: 12.66 %Virginia12.66District of Columbia: 12.62 %District of Columbia12.62Michigan: 12.266 %Michigan12.266Arkansas: 12.263 %Arkansas12.263Connecticut: 12.259 %Connecticut12.259Illinois: 12.153 %Illinois12.153Minnesota: 12.095 %Minnesota12.095Missouri: 12.069 %Missouri12.069Alabama: 12.055 %Alabama12.055New Mexico: 12.054 %New Mexico12.054Oklahoma: 12.046 %Oklahoma12.046Maryland: 12.035 %Maryland12.035Indiana: 12.008 %Indiana12.008Kentucky: 11.927 %Kentucky11.927Montana: 11.863 %Montana11.863Rhode Island: 11.722 %Rhode Island11.722Mississippi: 11.685 %Mississippi11.685Ohio: 11.628 %Ohio11.628Louisiana: 11.564 %Louisiana11.564Massachusetts: 11.561 %Massachusetts11.561Pennsylvania: 11.376 %Pennsylvania11.376New Hampshire: 11.3 %New Hampshire11.3Maine: 11.278 %Maine11.278Kansas: 11.097 %Kansas11.097Wyoming: 11.08 %Wyoming11.08Hawaii: 11.061 %Hawaii11.061Wisconsin: 11.033 %Wisconsin11.033Nebraska: 10.896 %Nebraska10.896West Virginia: 10.853 %West Virginia10.853Iowa: 10.221 %Iowa10.221South Dakota: 10.114 %South Dakota10.114Vermont: 9.885 %Vermont9.885North Dakota: 9.663 %North Dakota9.663Arizona: 15.77 %Arizona15.77Florida: 14.565 %Florida14.565Colorado: 14.357 %Colorado14.357California: 14.253 %California14.253Utah: 14.093 %Utah14.093Texas: 14.003 %Texas14.003Nevada: 13.852 %Nevada13.852Idaho: 13.567 %Idaho13.567Washington: 13.544 %Washington13.544Georgia: 13.5 %Georgia13.5South Carolina: 13.377 %South Carolina13.377Delaware: 13.352 %Delaware13.352New Jersey: 13.287 %New Jersey13.287North Carolina: 13.196 %North Carolina13.196Alaska: 13.053 %Alaska13.053Oregon: 13 %Oregon13Tennessee: 12.699 %Tennessee12.699New York: 12.693 %New York12.693Virginia: 12.66 %Virginia12.66District of Columbia: 12.62 %District of Columbia12.62Michigan: 12.266 %Michigan12.266Arkansas: 12.263 %Arkansas12.263Connecticut: 12.259 %Connecticut12.259Illinois: 12.153 %Illinois12.153Minnesota: 12.095 %Minnesota12.095Missouri: 12.069 %Missouri12.069Alabama: 12.055 %Alabama12.055New Mexico: 12.054 %New Mexico12.054Oklahoma: 12.046 %Oklahoma12.046Maryland: 12.035 %Maryland12.035Indiana: 12.008 %Indiana12.008Kentucky: 11.927 %Kentucky11.927Montana: 11.863 %Montana11.863Rhode Island: 11.722 %Rhode Island11.722Mississippi: 11.685 %Mississippi11.685Ohio: 11.628 %Ohio11.628Louisiana: 11.564 %Louisiana11.564Massachusetts: 11.561 %Massachusetts11.561Pennsylvania: 11.376 %Pennsylvania11.376New Hampshire: 11.3 %New Hampshire11.3Maine: 11.278 %Maine11.278Kansas: 11.097 %Kansas11.097Wyoming: 11.08 %Wyoming11.08Hawaii: 11.061 %Hawaii11.061Wisconsin: 11.033 %Wisconsin11.033Nebraska: 10.896 %Nebraska10.896West Virginia: 10.853 %West Virginia10.853Iowa: 10.221 %Iowa10.221South Dakota: 10.114 %South Dakota10.114Vermont: 9.885 %Vermont9.885North Dakota: 9.663 %North Dakota9.663
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Arizona15.77+1.18 pts
2Florida14.565-0.92 pts
3Colorado14.357-1.14 pts
4California14.253-0.39 pts
5Utah14.093-1.5 pts
6Texas14.003-0.9 pts
7Nevada13.852-1.16 pts
8Idaho13.567-0.03 pts
9Washington13.544-0.22 pts
10Georgia13.5-1.24 pts
11South Carolina13.377+0.39 pts
12Delaware13.352-0.2 pts
13New Jersey13.287-0.13 pts
14North Carolina13.196-0.03 pts
15Alaska13.053-0.6 pts
16Oregon13-0.82 pts
17Tennessee12.699+0.19 pts
18New York12.693-0.38 pts
19Virginia12.66-0.23 pts
20District of Columbia12.62-2.14 pts
21Michigan12.266-0.95 pts
22Arkansas12.263+0.15 pts
23Connecticut12.259+0.39 pts
24Illinois12.153-1.24 pts
25Minnesota12.095+0.41 pts
26Missouri12.069-0.77 pts
27Alabama12.055-0.24 pts
28New Mexico12.054-0.47 pts
29Oklahoma12.046-0.68 pts
30Maryland12.035-0.12 pts
31Indiana12.008-0.54 pts
32Kentucky11.927-0.58 pts
33Montana11.863-1.38 pts
34Rhode Island11.722+0.8 pts
35Mississippi11.685-0.24 pts
36Ohio11.628-0.41 pts
37Louisiana11.564-1.64 pts
38Massachusetts11.561-0.37 pts
39Pennsylvania11.376-0.17 pts
40New Hampshire11.3-0.25 pts
41Maine11.278-0.47 pts
42Kansas11.097-1.54 pts
43Wyoming11.08-2.21 pts
44Hawaii11.061+0.5 pts
45Wisconsin11.033-0.1 pts
46Nebraska10.896-0.55 pts
47West Virginia10.853+0.02 pts
48Iowa10.221-0.66 pts
49South Dakota10.114-0.46 pts
50Vermont9.885-0.85 pts
51North Dakota9.663-3.19 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Jobs added at opening and expanding establishments during the year, as a percentage of average employment in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

A gross flow: jobs lost elsewhere are not subtracted, so the net change is this rate minus job_destruction_rate. Not the same as payroll job growth from the monthly employment surveys. The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (US states by job creation rate, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by job creation rate, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. US states by job creation rate, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by job creation rate, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_job_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US states by job creation rate, 2016}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2016. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US states by job creation rate, 2016
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest job creation rate?

Arizona, with 15.77% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest job creation rate?

North Dakota, with 9.663% in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Job creation rate: other rankings

US states: more rankings